Never Over
by darco
Summary: Takes place at the end of "Owner of a Lonely Heart." Reflection to a time that Marco felt happy, confident, and sexy. Darco.
1. Happy, Confident, Sexy

**Author's Note**: New Darco story! This has been in my head ever since "Owner of a Lonely Heart," aired. A more Darcoized version of the ending. The writing's not that great on this one, but I wanted to get this one started. This should be about 5 chapters, unless I get alot of fans/reviewers.

* * *

I sighed as Ellie left the kitchen, sitting down on a stool, looking into the swirling brown liquid of my coffee in my porcelain coffee cup. It was my favorite cup, though not many people know why. It was a present Dylan had given me before we had moved in together, probably mostly due to the fact I was constantly stealing his cup.

Looking back, I probably would never have though I would come to this point. That I was so depressed, so lonely. I had the world at my touch then, and I was the happiest I had ever been. It was hard to not get mad at some people at times, but I was always mad at myself.

I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned my head to see Griffin coming into the kitchen.

"Hey, Marco," Griffin said.

"Hey."

"Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Sure," I said, motioning towards the seat across from me.

"I don't know you all that well yet," Griffin started to say, as he took a seat. "But I couldn't help but overhearing...but are you really that poor?"

I cringed. "Sorry about that."

"No, no, it's cool. You don't have to answer, I was just curious..."

"No, I don't mind." I sighed before continuing. "I guess my wallet is just a little thinner than I'm used to."

"How do you afford stuff? Don't you have rent, tuition?" Griffin asked me, confused.

"Well, I have a partial scholarship for my tuition. I was valedictorian at Degrassi."

Griffin raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really? Awesome."

I smiled. "Thanks. Anyway, the rest my parents pay for. They really want me to get a degree. And for awhile, they were paying my other expenses, like food and entertainment, and such. But after I got in trouble last year with gambling, my Dad made me make up that money by working at his shop."

I took a sip of my coffee, before continuing. "After I paid him back, I stopped working there, and well my funds, they have been slowly drying out ever since."

Griffin still looked confused. "I still don't completely understand, I mean what about your bills, like your phone, electricity, rent??"

I sheepishly looked down at the counter, touching the marks of wood with my finger.

"I'm not that proud of this- I mean, I tried to give him rent money-"

"Huh?"

"You know how you and Ellie have to pay Paige rent money and not me?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, Dylan pays for this house," I told him, almost embarrassed. "He won't take my rent money. I've tried."

"The house is in his name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and my cell phone..." I trailed off. "And the utilities..."

"I think I get it now. I guess hockey players make alot of money." Griffin sat back to look at me.

"Depends, really," I said, leaning forward.

Griffin leaned in, figuring out I was about to say something.

"Paige doesn't really have to work, you know," I whispered.

"Does he pay for Paige's rent, too?" Griffin asked.

"Well, I think she tricked him into it, but yes, he does." I said, pouring more coffee into my cup.

Griffin leaned back and crossed his arms, looking at me.

"Do you mind if I ask you something...personal?"

I looked back at him, shrugging my shoulders. "Sure, you can ask anything. I don't have anything to hide."

"What is he like, Dylan?"

My eyes shined at the question, the one question that always gives my feelings that are still there away. I stopped caring about hiding them anymore lately. Somethings you just can't help.

"Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked," Griffin asked. "I'm sure it's still a sore subject."

"No, it's okay, really." I paused for awhile. "Dylan is the exact opposite of Paige, in many ways. Where she can come off as bitchy, Dylan is just..free. He's laid back, passionate, extremely talented, funny, smart, loving, dedicated...and hot as hell."

Griffin laughed.

"Blonde, curly hair, tall, muscular, and eyes that look like you're viewing the ocean..." I trailed off, in my own world, thinking about Dylan's crystal clear blue eyes, that I missed so much.

"Another question for you," Griffin said, snapping me out of my daydream.

I motioned for Griffin to continue.

"You said that you wanted to feel happy, confident, and sexy...did you ever feel that way?" Griffin asked me with wonderment.

I sighed. "The truth is...I felt like that everyday. I was head over heels in love with him. Everyday I felt those things. Even when he was in Switzerland, I felt happy. Confident. Sexy."

Griffin's eyebrow arched up. "Really? Interesting..."

"What?" I asked.

"It's just the way Ellie talks about Dylan, makes it seem like he treated you like crap."

I laughed. "Far from it. She just doesn't understand long-distance relationships." I paused. "And everything I've done since breaking up with him, has just been..."

"Anyone can look at you and see you're lonely and depressed," Griffin said. "I don't really get why Ellie keeps trying to get you 'happy' with someone you don't even like."

"Yeah, well, since we broke up, I've been set up, I thought a straight guy was cute," I said, gesturing towards Griffin, as he gave me a half-smile. "I got a _bunny_. I went out with a guy that I didn't even like, due to Ellie's persistence, only because I was lonely and tired of being alone. I'm depressed all the time, I'm flat broke, and to top it all off, I got mixed up with a guy who tried to sell me to a guy for money."

"Wow, you really are messed up." Griffin chuckled.

"Yeah, it used to be so much easier. Everything was better when Dylan was here. I really did love him." I said, the sadness setting in.

"Right...but if you were in love...I guess I just don't understand why you broke it off."

I looked up at Griffin. "Honestly? Sometimes I care more about making my friends happy than making myself happy. Ellie saw my complaining about Dylan as him treating me bad, when that wasn't the case. I was just frustrated. I guess I felt pressured by her to end it with Dylan, even though my heart was still in love with him."

"Sounds to me like it still is."

"What? No.."

"Your face lights up even at the mention of his name, Marco. I may not know you too well, but I can tell when someone's in love."

"No, I have to be over him. Ellie..." I trailed off.

Griffin sighed, exasperated. "Will you stop ruling your life on what your friends think is best for you? It's your life, Marco, not theirs. Ellie has no right to tell you who is best for you. Only you have that right. And if they make you happy? Then a real friend would support you, no matter what they think. They would put aside what they feel, if they knew that person made you happy. And from the face I just saw at the mere mention of his name, Dylan makes you happy."

"Look, I'm an idiot, okay? I lost the most important thing in my life, and acting like I'm over him..." I sighed.

"Marco, listen. I don't have the best track record when it comes to relationships. But I have been around friends and family members who do. What I do know is that love, especially true love, is extremely rare, if not impossible to find."

"Yeah, so?" I questioned, not really getting Griffin's point.

"I'm sure this won't make you feel better," Griffin said, "but it seems to me that what you had with Dylan, was that, that love everyone seeks but no one finds. The thing is, Marco, once you find that, you don't throw it away, no matter what."


	2. Penalties, Hockey, Broken Heart

Author's Note: This chapter is mostly a filler chapter, but it gives you an insight of Dylan's life, which is needed before progressing with the story. Anything in italics is either Marco's thoughts or the "audio" coming from the television in the scene. Most of the hockey stuff is made up in this story. Huge thanks to puckbunnyxx for helping out with team names in Canada and Switzerland.

* * *

"Hey, Marco, how you doing?"

Marco looked up from the table he was wiping down at the campus pub to see Eric looking down at him.

"Oh, hey. Eric." Marco went to finish the table he was cleaning. "I'm good, you?"

"Not bad, not bad," Eric told him. "Everyone treating you good? Been out sick past couple days."

"Yeah, everyone's been great. Actually having some cash is a nice change."

Marco picked up the tub of dirty dishes and walked to put them into the sink in the back. Eric followed Marco.

"I tell ya, I can never get used to this bad music they play here," Eric told Marco.

Marco looked at him astonished.

"What, the _Beatles_?"

"Yeah, I know they are famous and all that, but just not my cup of sugar or tea or pretzels or whatever that saying is."

"Um, ok, whatever." Marco said, not understanding how anyone could not like the Beatles.

"Now, if it was like Louie Armstrong or heck, even Chopin playing, then this place would be really cool." Eric said.

Marco looked at him quite oddly.

"What?"

"It's like your this old man who likes very old music trapped in a body of a young person." Marco said, walking back to the bar area.

Eric chuckled. "Yeah, I get that alot."

Suddenly, a commotion of boos came from the open room to the side.

"What was that?" Marco frowned.

"Oh, that's the viewing room. Probably just a hockey game. They have viewing parties there whenever the Maple Leafs or the Marlies play. Sometimes they even turn on the European channels."

"Oh, okay.." Marco said quietly.

"I'm not really into hockey, how about you?" Eric asked.

Marco looked down at the wood of the bar.

"Dylan is a hockey player..." Marco said quietly, almost a whisper.

"Oh, sorry."

Marco shook his head. "It's fine."

Eric nodded. "Well, back to work." Eric left Marco to the kitchen, to wash dishes.

Marco sighed, before sitting down at one of the bar stools. It was relatively quiet that night, except for the room of boys watching hockey in the next room. As hard as Marco tried, he could never not think of Dylan when he heard anything to deal with hockey. Which wouldn't be so bad, except he lived in Canada. And in Canada, hockey was everywhere.

"God dammit, they keep screwing up!" Marco heard one guy say.

"One more period to go, dude," Another guy said. "Oh, hockey news is on. Turn it up."

Marco heard the volume get louder, before he heard something that made his heart sting.

_"It's time for our international correspondent to catch us up on the weekly International Segment. Last week, we focused on the goalie representation of Sweden in hockey clubs in the States. This week, John Johanssen concentrates on the world of Swiss hockey, and in particular, the Zurich Lions."_

Marco's ears perked up when he head this. _Dylan's hockey team._ Marco scooted towards the door so he could see the TV through the crack of the door, without being seen.

A man appeared on the screen, from what seemed to be some European city behind him.

"_Many of the greatest hockey players have made their start in Europe. Finland, Sweden most importantly. However, Switzerland is importing more players into the NHL, and surprisingly, many Canadian players are playing in the international circuit. Many came here during the lockout, and some even stayed here. In most recent years, many scouts have gone to Canada and the States to scout hockey players that could help their team. Which is exactly what happened with the Zurich Lions."_

A different man, looking quite European, then appeared on the screen, with a microphone in front of him.

_"Traditionally, we have only looked through Europe to develop our team. We have not gotten to the playoffs in about five years. We need a change. We need to move forward. We need to excel."_

The first man came back to the screen.

_"The Zurich Lions then enlisted the talents of one of the best European hockey scouts, Julien Gerber, in the hopes of getting some hockey players added to their team, that had endured a loss in team numbers, due to draft numbers and injuries."_

Marco froze at the mention of Julien Gerber. _Dylan's hockey scout_.

"_Coming into this season, the Lions were able to secure a non-stoppable goalie, a high scoring forward, and a great defenseman. Goalie Joel Lansing, from Sacramento, California, defenseman Ben Jensen from Vancouver, and center Dylan Michalchuk from Toronto."_

"Hey, wasn't that guy in our class last year?" Marco heard some guy ask.

"Yeah, Dylan. He's an awesome forward. You should see that guy play, it's just, out of this world." A guy answered back.

_"Ironically, Jensen and Michalchuk had played together in junior hockey before Jensen's family relocated to Vancouver. We talked to Jensen recently after a practice skate."_

A man, around Dylan's age, with blue eyes and short red hair, appeared on the screen, who seemed out of breath, and was sweaty.

_"Everyone has been really great, it's a hard adjustment at first, not being used to everything here. It's quite different from Canada, but having such an intense hockey regimen everyday, has been really great. Not everyone gets to live their childhood dream 12-18 hours a day, so I consider myself very lucky. "_

_"Has it helped having your old teammate being drafted to the same team?"_

_"Oh, it's been great to see Dylan again. He's just an unstoppable center. He has helped this team get back on the scoreboard in the beginning of the season."_

"_What has been your impression of his lack of scoring lately, and his growing number of penalty minutes?"_

_"I don't know if I can really answer that completely as I am not Dylan. But we are all human - we have downfalls, and rises. It's been really hard on myself, Dylan, and Joel as well - to come here and adjust being so far away from our families and not really being able to communicate with them, due to the amount of hours we work. He's just going through a very hard time right now - it's hard to mend a broken heart - and well, while we can usually keep our problems off the ice, we are well, human, and Dylan is just going through a hard time."_

The original broadcaster came back on the screen.

"_For the first two months, it seemed the Lions were getting back on track. They were outscoring most teams they faced, in large part due to Michalchuk's high scoring ability. Then, about six weeks ago, something in Michalchuk drastically changed. He was hardly scoring at all, and he was playing much more aggressively. His penalty numbers were growing, and his ice time was decreasing. HIs method of play got so agressive the coach has pulled him out of several games, as well as had him talk to the coach psychologist. We got to talk to the coach, as well as Michalchuk."_

The coach came on the screen again, with microphones in front of him.

_"Adjustments for new hockey players are always hard. Harder on some than others, and we don't really know what's going through his head, but we have discussed to Dylan his recent method of playing, and we hope that he starts playing like he did in the beginning of the season. He needs to handle his emotions better, because his aggressiveness is causing penalties, and opportunities for other teams to score during power plays."_

Then, Marco saw Dylan's face come on the screen. However, Dylan looked quite different than the Dylan that left him several months ago. His eyes were empty, and his face was sad. Marco's heart leaped when he saw Dylan's face, but also stung at the same time, knowing he'd ruined everything.

_"You have had more penalty minutes the past two weeks than you have head in your whole hockey career. Why is that?"_

_"That's not easy to explain. I've been letting my personal problems and emotions get onto the ice, which is causing me and the team penalties due to my method play. It's just not easy when you're this far away from home, I can't explain it."_

_"Has the coach pulling you off the roster for games helped you any?"_

_"No. Nothing will help right now. I will be like this for awhile."_

_"How come?"_

_"When you lose the love of your life over long-distance, it's hard not to get mad at the ice, even at hockey, as much as I hate to admit. But when you lose something that you love so much, even more than you love hockey, which is saying something, its hard to get over. I'm not sure if it's even possible."_

Marco turned around and sunk to the floor, looking down.

_"Tune in next week for our feature on Russian defensemen. Back to center ice with the Maple Leafs, hoping to score in the third period."_

"Woah, he must have gotten burnt my some chick." Marco heard a guy say.

"More like guy." Another guy responded.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Dylan's gay. He and his boyfriend were very much in love, probably still are."

"Oh, ok."

"Long-distance relationships suck, gay, straight, bi, or whatever."

"True that."

Marco looked up at the ceiling, trying to force the tears forming not to drop from his eyes. Alas, the tears couldn't be stopped, as several tears streamed down Marco's olive cheeks.


	3. Injuries, Comas, Airplanes

FYI - There's references to blood in this chapter. Not that bad, but essential to the story.

* * *

Paige!"

Andrea had Paige in the middle of a pile of catalogs, photographs and negatives, searching frantically for a scarf. A scarf which Andrea decided was essential to the summer's best look, even though this scarf was made entirely out of wool. Paige was so engrossed in her search that she didn't even hear Andrea's other assistant, Ryan, call out for Paige.

"Paige!"

Paige looked up at Ryan, who was holding a phone. "What?"

"Phone, it's about your brother."

Paige rolled her eyes, searching through more papers on the desk. "Just tell Dylan that Marco will turn around, just give him some more time. I don't have time for Dylan's drama right now."

Ryan looked at Paige. "No, Paige...it's not Dylan, it's about Dylan."

Paige looked up at Ryan, confused.

"It's your mom, he's been in an accident."

Paige's eyes popped in worry, dropping what she was searching through, before grabbing the phone from Ryan hurriedly.

"Mom? Where's Dyl, is he okay?"

"Paige, sweetheart," her Mom said into the phone. "I need you to listen to me very carefully. You need to do exactly as I say, all right?"

"Mom, Dylan, is he okay??"

"If you follow my directions, he will be okay. He isn't right now."

"Mom - please, tell me, what happened...Dyl.." Paige said into the phone desperately, trying to get something out of her mother.

"Paigey, honey, this should be on the news soon. Your father and I are headed on a plane in about half an hour, we are already at the airport."

"Is Dyl hurt?"

"Paigey...he's in a coma."

Paige was silent, and reached for the nearest chair so she wouldn't faint.

"Paige?"

"Mom..." Paige said, starting to choke up.

"It was last night's game, sweetie. I don't know all the details, just that his lower leg got cut, and he fell head first on the ice."

Paige started to sniffle.

"I know this is hard to take, this just happened. It's possible he'll come to, but in case he doesn't, you have to -- you have to bring Marco to him."

"What?"

"Paige, you know that's the only thing, the only person that will wake him up. Your brother can be quite stubborn when he wants to be, and Marco's the only one that can snap him out of it. Despite what they are going through, they love each other very much. Dylan needs Marco right now, more than ever before."

"I know..."

"Now, when Dylan got to Switzerland, he listed us, yourself, and Marco as family and emergency contacts. He never took Marco off the list that is guaranteed plane tickets if medical accidents occur. I've put your tickets on the coffee table in the living room. I don't care what you have to do Paigey - just get Marco on that plane."

"Okay," Paige said meekly.

"Paige, everything will be okay," Her mom told her soothingly. "You need to be strong. I'll take care of everything, don't worry about leaving or your work - just get Marco and get to Switzerland."

Small tears started to strain Paige's eyes.

"Honey, you have to do this, okay? He'll be okay - just do what I say, and he'll be fine. Okay?"

"Okay," Paige said, barely above a whisper.

"Your father and I are going to go now. We love you, okay?"

"I love you, too, Mom," Paige said to her mother, before hanging up the phone, before it slipped out of her hands, hitting the floor with a loud noise.

Ryan looked up at the noise, seeing Paige, who was leaning down, staring at the phone in shock.

"Paige?" Ryan said, coming over to her to see what was wrong. "Everything okay?"

Paige shook her head, still looking at the floor.

Ryan leaned down to look at Paige.

Paige's eyes were glistening with crystal clear tears, as she looked down at Ryan.

"My brother's a hockey player, in Switzerland, and he -" Paige paused to wipe her tears from with her sleeve. "got hurt and he's in a coma-"

"Oh my god, Paige, are you okay?"

Paige shook her head. "I'm supposed to go and get on a plane to go over there."

"What are you doing, Paige? Go!"

"I can't!" Paige looked at Ryan. "My job-"

"Don't worry about the Wicked Witch of Toronto. I'll deal with her. You need to be with your brother." Ryan turned around and went to Paige's desk to get her things, before returning to Paige.

"Here, here's your things. Go pack and get on that plane to be with your brother. He needs you.."

Paige nodded, as she stood up. "But what about.."

Ryan turned Paige and gently lead her to the elevators. "Don't even think about it. I'll take care of it."

Paige looked at Ryan mystified as she stepped into the elevator.

"I have a family, too, you know," Ryan said as he answered her unspoken question.

* * *

After going home, Paige slowly composed herself, packing a suitcase for her and Marco as well. She grabbed a bunch of clothes from Marco's room, their passports, and then she headed to the pub where Marco worked at on campus. She had to be strong and brave. It was going to be hard to do that in front of Marco, but she had to try.

She entered the pub, which was relatively quiet. Her eyes found Eric, who looked up at her, before walking towards her. She saw in his eyes that he already knew. She could only guess that meant Marco already knew.

"You're taking him back to him, aren't you?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Hm," He lightly chuckled. "You know, even though we have zero in common, I do still like him. But the guy is crazy for Dylan. He won't admit it, but anyone can tell he's still in love."

Paige smiled at Eric, appreciative of his honesty.

"One of the lucky bastards, I guess." Eric said, chuckling.

Paige nodded, but looked at Eric with a strained sense of welcoming, as they both knew why she was here, even though she never really said it.

"He's in there," Eric pointed to the TV watching room. "Prepare yourself though. He doesn't look good."

"Neither do I. If I'm this bad, he's millions times worse." Paige replied to him.

Eric nodded, before leaving her to find Marco. Paige breathed deep, before entering the room, trying to prepare herself for Marco.

Once inside the room, she saw a small frame that was Marco, huddled down on the floor, with his arms wrapped around his knees, and his face hidden in his lap.

As she walked closer, she saw that he was shaking, almost violently. Her touch did nothing to ease Marco, as she heard the TV from above them, that seemed to be looping over and over. She looked up at the TV in horror.

The TV was playing a news segment on Dylan, but Marco seemed to have kept it looping. The sight before her was a still image of her big brother, his lower leg gashed, with blood spilling on the ice. Then, the news segment started over again.

It was the campus' TV news station, UofTorontoians.

_Some horrifying breaking news from Switzerland. It seems that Dylan Michalchuk, the playoff-winning center from our own hockey team, has been severely injured in a game in Zurich. Michalchuk was scouted to play hockey professionally in Switzerland late last year. In an intense overtime period against Geneva, Michalchuk was accidentally struck in his lower thigh by the skate blade of an opposing defenseman. Michalchuk then fell backwards after losing his balance, as he hit the back of his head straight onto the ice._

Video of the incident played slowly as Paige watched the blade of another skater collide with Dylan's leg, splicing it open, as blood fell onto the ice.

_Michalchuk was transferred to a local hospital immediately, where doctors are saying he is experiencing concussion-like symptoms, and has since fell into a coma. His family, who still live in Toronto, have been contacted and are currently making their way towards Switzerland._

The video then paused on the image of Dylan's blood spilling onto the ice, as Dylan laid still on his back, his head leaning backwards on the ice.

Looking down at Marco, she noticed he was covering his ears, while still shaking. She turned the TV off, before sitting in front of Marco. She had to get him to Switzerland, there was no doubt.

"Marco," Paige said, touching his arm. "Marco, you need to listen to me, okay?"

"No no no no no no no," Marco kept muttering over and over, not even noticing Paige.

"Marco, we have to go. We need to go see Dylan, it's very important."

Marco kept rocking back and forth, sniffling his tears away, trying to forget what he saw.

"Marco!" Paige shook him, forcing him to look at her. As he looked up, he looked surprised to see Paige there. Paige looked back at Marco, astonished. His eyes were watery, his cheeks were stained with tears, and it looked like he had been crying for hours.

"What are you doing here?" Marco said huskily.

"Come on, we have to go," Paige said, pulling Marco up with a hand.

"What, where?"

"We have to go see Dylan."

Marco sat back down on the floor.

"Marco.."

Marco looked at Paige, eyes glistening.

"I-I love him, Paige."

Paige kneeled in front of him to see his face. "I know you do, hon. Now you have to come with me so Dylan will wake up."

Marco shook his head forcefully.

"Why not?" Paige asked.

"He-he doesn't want to see me. I screwed up, I've lost him forever."

"Not if you don't get off your ass and get in the car. Marco, I'm dead serious, you have to come with me and get on that plane." Paige sighed, realizing she wasn't getting through to him. "Marco, listen to me. Listen carefully."

Marco looked at Paige.

"First, you didn't lose him. You don't know that he calls me every couple days, asking me about you, whining about why you two aren't together."

Marco looked up in wonderment at Paige, his eyes almost smiling.

"You aren't over, Marco. You and Dyl will never be over. But Dylan is hurt, really hurt. And he needs us, he needs **you**. He won't get better without you, Marco. I know that more than anything."

Marco wiped a tear from his eyelashes that was close to falling down his cheek. He looked up at Paige, and nodded. Paige smiled back at him, and helped him up. They hugged each other, walking out of the pub, Marco holding onto Paige tightly, as he was just as nervous and afraid as she was, if not more.


End file.
